TRANSCENDENCE

[WORKING TITLE]

SCRIPT

ROB WEST

Mark is a young adult who lives in his sister Sarahs apartment. He has few prospects for the future and is struggling to come to terms with his estranged Mothers recent hospitalization due to a long-term illness. Meanwhile Sarah wants him to get back on his own two feet as well as make amends with their Mother. To escape himself he takes psychedelics and finds that he must first free his mind through a spiritual journey in order to find the answers he seeks.

SCENE 1 SARAHS APARTMENT INT- EARLY EVENING

THE MUSIC FADES IN WITH THE IMAGES TAKING AN AMBIENT ELECTRONIC APPROACH, THE MOOD IS PEACEFUL. CALM BEFORE A STORM. THE CAMERA TRACKS ALONG A DESK REVEALING VARIOUS ORNAMENTS AND OBJECTS, MOST NOTABLEY AN OLD LOOKING BOOK, A POSTCARD OF A RUSSIAN SPACEMAN TITLED GREETINGS FROM STAR CITY! MOVING FROM THE DESK, THE CAMERA LOOKS DOWN TO REVEAL SOME WHITE CONVERSE ON THE GROUND AS WELL AS A DARK WINDOW WITH LITTLE TO SEE OUTSIDE. AS THE CAMERA TURNS TO THE BED, A LAVA LAMP CAN BE SEEN AS WELL AS SOME OTHER OBJECTS SUCH AS A RUG AND A POSTER. THE SHOT FINALLY TURNS TO THE DOORWAY WHERE SARAH CAN BE SEEN LEAVING THE OPPOSITE ROOM ON THE PHONE. SARAH: YES, THANK YOU DOCTOR. ILL BE IN TO SEE HER TOMORROW. AS SHE HANGS UP THE CAMERA TURNS TO THE FRONT DOOR JUST AS MARK WALKS IN WITH A SMALL PARCEL IN HIS HAND, HE LOOKS UP AT THE CAMERA AND TURNS INTO THE KITCHEN. CUT IN THE KITCHEN MARK IS OPENING HIS PARCEL; SARAH LEANS ON THE DOORFRAME TO PREVENT HIM FROM GETTING ROUND HER. SARAH: YOURE LATE, WHERE WERE YOU THIS TIME? MARK: I WAS BUSY. SARAH: TOO BUSY TO COME WITH ME TO HOSPITAL? CUT SHOT IS NOW OVER SARAHS SHOULDER LOOKING AT MARK. MARK: I WAS WORKING. MARK PUSHES PAST HER SARAH: THATS RICH. WORKING? YOU MEAN BUYING DRUGS. MARK: YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN. SHES YOUR MOTHER TOO.

CUT MARK ENTERS HIS ROOM AND SARAH FOLLOWS SARAH: NO, I DONT KNOW YOU ANYMORE, YOURE HARDLY HOME, WHY WONT YOU VISIT HER, SHE WANTS TO SEE YOU. MARK: SHE DOESNT WANT TO SEE ME; SHE HASNT SPOKEN TO ME SINCE DAD LEFT. SARAH: GODDAMNIT MARK! THAT WAS YEARS AGO AND SHES DYING! THE LEAST YOU COULD DO IS MAKE YOUR PEACE. MARK SHRUGS. SARAH: WELL FINE, YOU BETTER GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER, YOURE LIVING IN MY PLACE REMEMBER, IM GOING OUT AND YOU BETTER GO SEE HER SOON OR I DONT WANT YOU HERE ANYMORE. ITS TIME YOU GREW UP. SARAH LEAVES THE ROOM AND THE SOUND OF A DOOR SLAMMING CAN BE HEARD. MARK TAKES A DEEP BREATH. IN HIS HAND IS A SMALL PIECE OF BLOTTER PAPER, IT HAS A RUSSIAN STAR ON IT. HE SCOFFS TO HIMSELF AND PUTS THE BLOTTER ON HIS TONGUE. MARK: ALWAYS TEST THE MERCHANDISE MARK GRINS AT HIMSELF IN THE MIRROR BEFORE PICKING UP THE BOOK ON THE SIDE. CUT CLOSE UP OF BOOK. MARK LIES DOWN ON HIS BED; THE SHOT BECOMES POV AS HE OPENS THE BOOK TO THE CAMERA AND STARTS TO READ. THE WORD BEGIN TO MELD AND MOVE ON THE PAGE, MARK BLINKS AND THE SHOT CHANGES. CUT THE BOOK IS MOVED OUT OF SHOT TO REVEAL A DIFFERENT VERSION OF THE APARTMENT, THIS TIME PULSING WITH COLOUR AND LIGHT. MARK LOOKS AROUND AT THE ROOM, TAKING IN ALL THE ELEMENTS BEFORE THE CAMERA MOVES TOWARD THE WINDOW WHICH NOW SHOWS THE COSMOS. AS IT GETS CLOSER THE STARS MOVE AND PULSE AND A TRIPPY SEQUENCE OF GEOMETRIC SHAPES AND LINES TAKE OVER. CUT

SCENE 2 ABANDONED BUILDING DREAMSCAPE INT AMBIGUOUS TIME OF DAY MARK IS LYING IN THE CENTRE OF THE FLOOR, AROUND THE SHABBY, RUNDOWN ROOM IS DECORATED WITH STRANGE LIGHTS AND OBJECTS AS WELL AS WEIRD PAINTING AND WRITING ON THE WALLS, THE ROOM IS LOW LIT AND SINE WAVE MUSIC FLUCTUATES IN THE BACKGROUND. THERE ARE QUIET WHISPERS ALL AROUND HIM AS MARK SLOWLY RISES TO HIS FEET. HE LOOKS AROUND THE WALLS BUT AN ETHEREAL VOICE STANDS OUT CAUSING HIM TO JUMP. COSMONAUT: MARK. I SEE YOU. MARK. ARE YOU LISTENING? THE VOICE CONTINUES REPEATING ITSELF AS THE CAMERA FOLLOWS MARK AS HE FRANTICALLY SEARCHES FOR THE SOURCE OF THE VOICE. IN FRONT AND BEHIND HIM AT INTERVALS A FIGURE FLASHES PAST THE SCREEN. THERE IS A RUSTLING AS HE REACHES A FLIGHT OF STAIRS, AS HE ASCENDS THE WHISPERING STOPS AND ALL SOUND IS SLOWED DOWN. ON THE WALL OPPOSITE ARE THE WORDS WRITTEN SHE WANTS TO SEE YOU. MARK STARES AT THE WRITING WITH FEAR AND CRYS OUT MARK: WHOS DOING THIS?! BEHIND HIM THE COSMONAUT REVEALS THEMSELF. THE MASK OBSCURES THE FACE. MARK STARTES AT THE FIGURE, UNSIRE WHAT TO SAY. COSMONAUT: DO YOU LOVE HER? MARK: WHAT? COSMONAUT: AROUND. MARK LIKE A CHILD LOVES ITS MOTHER? OR SHOULD IT BE THE OTHER WAY

LOOKS TO THE GROUND, CLEARLY ASHAMED.

MARK: NO, I DO LOVE HER, I JUST DONT KNOW WHAT TO SAY. COSMONAUT: PERHAPS YOU NEED SAY NOTHING AT ALL. MARKS FACE TURNS TO ANGER, HE MOVES CLOSER TO THE COSMONAUT. STARNG AT ITS BLANK VISOR. MARK: AND WHO ARE YOU ANYWWAY, WHAT CONCERN IS IT OF YOURS? SHE CHOSE TO ABANDON ME, BLAMED ME FOR DAD LEAVING. IT ISNT MY FAULT. I WONT APOLOGISE. THE COSMONAUT REMAINS SILENT, AND STARES AT MARK. MARK: ANSWER ME DAMMNIT! WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT FROM ME? COSMONAUT: I THINK A MORE APPROPRIATE QUESTION WOULD BE, WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME? OR RATHER YOURSELF.

THE COSMONAUT RAISES HIS HAND AS IF TO GET MARK TO TAKE IT. MARK LOOKS TAKEN ABACK, HE IS UTTERLY CONFUSED. COSMONAUT: TRUST YOURSELF AND THE REST WILL FOLLOW. TAKE MY HAND AND ILL SHOW YOU. WITH A MOMENT OF HESITATION MARK TAKES HOLD OF THE HAND. IMMEDIATELY THE ROOM FADES AWAY IN A PIERCING WHITE LIGHT. CUT SCENE 3 WHITE ABYSS INT INFINTE WHITE

THE COSMONAUT LOOKS STRAIGHT TOWARD HIM AND FADES INTO SARAH. IN THIS WHITE SPACE MARK IS NOW HOLDING HANDS WITH HIS SISTER, ALTHOUGH SHE IS CRYSTALISED AND MOTIONLESS. SUDDENLY SARAH TURNS AND RUNS AWAY INTO THE WHITE, MARK ATTEMPTS TO FOLLOW MARK: SARAH! SARAH COME BACK! SHE IS NOWHERE TO BE SEEN, MARK FALLS TO HIS KNEES AND SOBS. MEANWHILE FRAGMENTED SPEECH CAN BE HEARD, THE ARGUMENT THEY HAD EALIER, AND THE SOUND OF SARAH COMFORTING HIS MOTHER IN HOSPITAL. MARK LOOKS UP AS HE HEARS HER VOICE. MARK: MOM? CAN YOU HEAR ME? THE FLASHBACK AUDIO DARKS A DARK TURN AND THE OMINOUS MUSIC RAMPS UP. GHOSTLY VOICE: YOU NO GOOD PIECE OF TRASH, WHY DID I EVER GIVE BIRTH TO YOU? CANT YOU DO ANYTHING RIGHT? MARK COWERS BUT LOOKS STARTLED WHEN HE HEARS HIS OWN VOICE MARK FROM THE PAST: IT ISNT MY FAULT, HE LEFT BECAUSE YOU MA! YOU DROVE HIM AWAY. GHOSTLY VOICE: HOW DARE YOU, YOU LITTLE RAT. AFTER ALL IVE DONE FOR YOU? WHY DONT YOU GET A JOB? WHY DONT YOU GET THE HELL AWAY FROM THIS HOUSE. YOURE A FUCKING ADULT, ITS TIME YOU GREW UP. UPON HEARING THAT LAST SENTENCE, IT BEGINS TO EEIRLY REPEAT, USING BOTH THE MOTHERS VOICE AND SARAHS. MARK CURLS UP INTO A BALL AND THE CAMERA MOVES IN ON HIS FACE, HE IS TRYING TO BLOCK OUT THE NOISE BUT A HEART RATE MONITOR IS BEEPING INCREASINGLY LOUDLY OVER THE TWISTED DIALOGUE. AS THE VOICES REACH A PEAK THE MONITOR FLAT LINES AND ALL SOUND IT DROWNED OUT EXCEPT THE CONTINUOUS TONE. THE SHOT FADES TO WHITE.

CUT SCENE 4 HOSPITAL CORRIDER INT DAY THE SHOT IS HEAVILY OVER-EXPOSED, THERE IS A LOT OF LIGHT AS THE SHOT FADES IN, THE CAMERA BEGINS TO TRACK DOWN THE HALL TOWARD SARAH WHO IS STANDING OUT AMONGST THE WHITENESS, THE FLAT LINE CONTINUES AS SHE TURNS AND LOOKS BEYOND THE CAMERA, REVEALING HER ANGUISHED FACE. SHE STARES FOR A MOMENT BEFORE LOOKING TO THE GROUND WITH A FACE FULL OF SORROW. AS THE SHOT FADES A OUT A DOCTOR IN A WHITE JACKET CAN BE SEEN PUTTING HIS ARM AROUND HER AS IF TO COMFORT. FADE TO BLACK. CREDITS.